The viral song “Little Miss Perfect” exploded across TikTok and social media several years ago after Broadway star Taylor Louderman 鈥� of “Mean Girls” fame 鈥�
Now, that song has become a full musical and is coming to the stage at the Olney Theatre Center, in Olney, Maryland.
Creator, writer and composer Joriah Kwam茅 said the journey from a bedroom鈥憌ritten tune to a fully staged production has been surreal.
The decision to debut in the D.C. region was intentional, Kwam茅 said, as his connection to the District’s arts scene goes back years, long before his work went viral.
He performed at the Shakespeare Theatre Company early in his career, an experience that made the D.C. area feel like a natural home for the show鈥檚 first production.
鈥淲hen this became the theater that we were going to come to, I was excited. I knew what to expect. I knew how acclaimed this area is. I knew how involved critics are. I knew how involved the community is,鈥� Kwam茅 told 海角社区app.
The musical began as a single song Kwam茅 wrote in 2019 for the Write Out Loud contest. After Louderman鈥檚 performance went viral, fans around the world began urging him to turn the song into a full story.
鈥淚 remember that was a very weird period of my life where I was like, every day, like two people, some of which I hadn鈥檛 talked to in years, were sending me TikToks like, 鈥楲ook, your song鈥檚 on TikTok,” Kwam茅 said.
At the heart of “Little Miss Perfect” is Noelle, a perfectionist high school senior in a predominantly white Michigan town who has shaped herself into someone she thinks others want her to be. But she begins to question who she is as she develops feelings for an exchange student staying with her family.
鈥淪he gets her world flipped upside down when she starts to develop feelings for the foreign exchange student that’s being hosted at her house, Malaya, who’s from the Philippines, who, unlike her, is completely free spirited and knows who she is through the course of the story,” Kwam茅 said.
Kwam茅 said that hearing from people who saw themselves in the characters pushed him to keep writing. He said creating that connection between the audience and characters motivates him: 鈥淚t’s what I’ve always loved about creating characters.”
The show features the familiar world of high school, including cheerleaders, jocks and hallways buzzing with teenage politics, but Kwam茅 and the creative team focused on giving characters who rarely lead coming鈥憃f鈥慳ge musicals the center stage to shine.
DC actors help bring the story to life
Kwam茅 said one of the most rewarding parts of the process has been watching the largely D.C.-based cast tackle roles with intensity and heart.
鈥淲e’re all New York creatives, so we are used to working at a certain speed and getting a certain output, and they are stepping to the plate,鈥� he said.
Olney Theatre Center Artistic Director Jason Loewith said the core of the musical has remained unchanged throughout its development.
鈥淣ever has the North Star shifted, and the North Star has always been to tell the story of Noelle,” Loewith said.
For Kwam茅, the themes in “Little Miss Perfect” echo parts of his own experience as an artist, as a writer and as someone who often felt he had to change himself to fit expectations.
He said when he moved to New York City, he felt he needed to change to better fit in, but he said the song and its popularity changed that.
鈥淲hen people lifted that up, that became my moment where I learned the lesson that a lot of these characters have yet to learn. So, it’s kind of like a cool full circle moment,鈥� he said.
The creative team believes the musical has a future beyond this premiere. And Kwam茅 is open about where he hopes it eventually lands.
鈥淏roadway is what I鈥檝e always dreamed and now that we鈥檙e putting the show up on its feet, it feels very much like a new, exciting Broadway show,” he said.
Before that dream has a chance to take shape, audiences in the D.C. region will be the first to see the full production brought to life.
Feb. 8, with additional performances starting Feb. 12.
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